1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates in general to identification cards, labels and business forms, and, in particular, to such products as include certain cards and labels, and methods of fabrication of same suitable for use on or in conjunction with flexographic printing presses, offset printing presses and other printing devices, as well as on offline finishing equipment such as manufactured by Tamarack and Hunkler.
2. Background Art
Printing products with peel-off cards, labels and the like, generally referred to herein (without limitation) as business forms, have been available in the industry for a number of years. Certain business forms of this type are shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,555, issued Dec. 2, 2003, entitled INTEGRATED FORMS AND METHOD OF MAKING SUCH FORMS. This technology, prior to the present invention can cause a finished printed form exiting certain printing devices to engage a liner on the previously printed form as it rests in a paper tray, pushing the previously printed form from the tray onto the floor, or causing the second form to back-up and damage the form or jam the print device. Such occurrences can be particularly troublesome when printing forms in sequential numbered order. Where the printed forms are confined to a holding tray, backing up of the second printed form can also cause a label to pre-dispense from the form, resulting in the danger of live pressure sensitive adhesive in the toner fusion area of the print device which can result in expensive damage to the print device.
To illustrate the above-noted problems, prior forms of the subject type such as typically used in modern laser and inkjet printers, as well as in certain other printing devices, are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings as a first printed form 810A and a second printed form 810B. Individual forms of this type are provided as assemblies each comprising a sheet 812 of paper or card stock, or other layer of material typically suitable for printing on, with a front side 818 and a back side 820, and a glassine or other suitable liner 842 adhered to the back side of the sheet, with a peel off label or card 814 (shown in dashed lines) established in the sheet. The liner does not cover the entire back side of the sheet, but rather covers a portion of the sheet including the card and a region 816 of the sheet surrounding the card. This results in a trailing edge 850 of the liner being exposed on the back side of the form after it has been ejected from the print device (not shown) and as it is resting on the paper holding tray 800 (indicated in dashed lines). Consequently, in print devices where forms exit (as indicated by arrow “A”) such that the leading edge 824 of the second printed form 810B slides along the back side of the first form 810A in the holding tray, the leading edge 824 of the second form 810B can engage the trailing edge 850 of the liner 842 of the first form 810A, pushing the first form out of the holding tray (as indicated by the dashed arrow “B” in FIG. 2), and/or causing damage to the forms, as well as potentially causing damage to the print device, particularly when the tray includes a front lip or other arrangement that constrains movement of the forms and prevents the forms from sliding out the front of the tray.
Accordingly, an objective of the invention is to provide a business form of the above-described type, with a peel-off or otherwise (adhesively) removable card or label and liner, and an indentation established proximate the trailing edge of the liner across the width thereof to prevent the leading edge of a form exiting a printing device from engaging the trailing edge of the liner on the previously printed form as is rests in a holding tray.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a form of the subject type with the above-described indentation established proximate both top and bottom edges of the liner (across the widths thereof) to prevent a form exiting a printer from engaging the edge of the liner on a previously printed form independently of the orientation of the forms as they exit the printer.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for producing a form of the subject type with the above-described indentation established proximate the trailing edge of the liner.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for producing a form of the subject type with the above-described indentation established proximate both the top and bottom edges of the liner.
Another objective of the invention is to achieve the foregoing in a method suitable for use in conjunction with conventional printing and label formation equipment.
These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in light of the description, claims and drawings hereof.